


A Difference of Opinion

by Lady_Phenyx



Series: Fluffvember 2019 [24]
Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Parent Joxaren | The Joxter, Sibling Arguments, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has Paws and a Tail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:49:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21551770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Phenyx/pseuds/Lady_Phenyx
Summary: Snufkin rarely loses his temper - but this morning, he and Little My are furious with each other, waking everyone in Moomin House with their argument. The rest of their family is going to have to get involved to resolve this sibling spat.Fluffvember Day 24: Making Up After a Fight | "Where are we going?'
Series: Fluffvember 2019 [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533602
Comments: 6
Kudos: 134





	A Difference of Opinion

The residents of Moomin House woke to the sound of raised voices, shouting in anger.

To say the least, it was not a typical wake up.

Especially not when, after a few moments of listening, they could tell that one of the voices raised in anger was Snufkin's.

Snufkin had gone from being open to being more private as he spent more time around them, frightened of becoming too close, before slowly beginning to again open himself as he trusted all of them to let them in on to how he was really feeling, letting them in on things he didn't tell anyone – but none of them had heard him raise his voice in anger before.

It was rare for him to get angry at all, or to stay in a confrontation long enough to be provoked. He'd closed up the last time he'd gotten mad, instead.

And the second voice was undeniably Little My's.

The Moomins and Snorkmaiden – who'd been spending the night – rushed outside.

Snufkin and Little My were standing outside Snufkin's tent, glaring at each other.

Little My did an abrupt about face and stormed away from the tent. Behind her, Snufkin clenched his fists and gave a muffled scream of frustration, his bristled tail snapping back and forth, and Moomin could have sworn he saw tears building before Snufkin scrubbed at his face with his sleeve and disappeared into his tent with a violent snap of the canvas.

He re-emerged a second later, pole in hand, and stormed off in the other direction.

Little My sped up until she was running as she pounded across the bridge, each step slamming against the wood, and past their audience, not speaking, fuming and snarling, tears in the corner of her eyes.

She hit Moomin House and slammed the door behind her.

Moomin hesitated, looking between house and woods, before moving to follow Snufkin.

He was jerked to a stop by Moominmamma's paw on his arm. “Best to give them both some time to cool down,” she said.

“But...Snufkin lets things stew,” Moomin protested. “What if he's just madder later?”

“Then he'll have worked up a fine head of steam, it looks like, and will be ready to tell you everything when it boils over,” Moominpappa said. “Gracious, I never thought Snufkin could yell like that, whatever could be the matter?”

“Usually anymore, when Little My gets like this, we...ask Snufkin...to calm her...down...” Snorkmaiden said, faltering as the words came out, seeing the problem immediately. “Oh dear. What do you do when the calm one that usually solves things is furious?

“All right. Let's try and have some breakfast, and that should be long enough for them to calm down that we can try to talk to them,” Moominmamma the ever-practical said. “Snorkmaiden, you and I can talk to Little My. Moomin, you and Moominpappa can go talk to Snufkin.”

“Actually, Mamma, I think you and Moomin should talk to Snufkin,” Snorkmaiden said as they headed back to the house. “I think he's more open with you. Sorry, Moominpappa.”

Moominpappa waved it off. “It's all right, I think you're right. I'll talk with Little My with you. Snufkin does seek out Moominmamma more often than me, the softer touch might just be what's needed.”

\---XXX---

Breakfast was awkward, to say the least. Quiet and tense, with none of them really hungry despite Moominmamma's cooking.

Given how level-headed Snufkin usually was, how hard it was to provoke him, and how happy Little My was to find out that he was her brother...none of them knew what to do. They never would have thought the two of them would...who would have predicted she and Snufkin could get into a flaming row?

Should they get Mymble involved?

Why did this have to happen now? Muddler and Fuzzy, Joxter and Mymblemamma were supposed to be visiting soon.

And they were supposed to have explanation for where they'd been, instead of here with Sniff and Snufkin, Mymble and Little My.

There was a knock on the door, and they all jumped, rushing to answer it.

Mymble stood on the doorstep, blinking at them. “Um, hello?” she said. “I was coming to see Little My and see if everything was ready.”

The four sighed heavily and beckoned her in.

“Something's gone wrong,” Moominmamma told her, gently ushering Mymble inside. She described what had woken them that morning, and how they'd been about to split up to go talk to the two.

“Oh dear,” Mymble said softly, pressing a paw to her face. “Do you think it might be about our mother? And Joxter? Little My wasn't old enough to remember much when he disappeared, but I think she remembers how upset mother and I were.”

“And Snufkin's been excited to meet him,” Snorkmaiden said, mirroring Mymble. “But...”

“Now, now, let's not jump to any conclusions,” Moominpappa said, waving his paws gently in a 'calm down' motion. “Let's talk to them first. Mymble, Snorkmaiden and I were going to talk to Little My, and Moomin and Mamma were going to go talk to Snufkin.”

“That might be a good idea – you knew Joxter, didn't you, Moominpappa?” Mymble said. “If this is about him, you might be able to help Little My calm down.”

Moominpappa nodded in agreement, and, gathering up breakfast as a peace offering, the trio headed up the stairs to Little My's room as Moominmamma and Moomin headed out to find Snufkin.

\---XXX---

The trio found Little My buried in the blankets of her bed, a small mound in the center of a pile of mussed blankets.

“Go _away_ ,” she called when the door opened.

“It's Mymble,” her sister called. “I've got breakfast. Plus Snorkmaiden and Moominpappa.”

“You called my _sister‽”_ the bundle cried in outrage, shifting and bouncing.

“No, I was already on my way over. I found out you and Snufkin had an argument from Moominmamma. Everyone's worried, Little My. Please come out and tell us what's wrong.”

“What's wrong is Snufkin is stubborn as a rock!” Little My snapped, the blankets falling away when Mymble tugged at them cautiously. Little My scrubbed at her face and the tattletale tear stains.

“Little My,” Snorkmaiden began.

“Why should I tell you, you're just going to take his side!” Little My snapped.

Snorkmaiden planted her paws on her hips. “That's not true, and you're trying to make me mad so I'll go away,” she said. “We love both of you, so we need to know what's going on so we can help.”

Little My glared at her, but it wasn't as effective as usual – mainly because of the tear stains still on her cheeks. 

“See?” she demanded of Mymble. “He's not even here yet and we're all hurting!”

“So this is about Joxter?” Mymble said, sitting down on the bed by Little My. 

Little My looked away and crossed her arms but gave a sharp, angry nod. Mymble waited, glancing at Moominpappa when he would have spoken.

“I don't remember him, but I remember how sad you and Mother were when he didn't come back,” Little My finally said. “You weren't upset like that with the others.”

“We didn't expect the others to come back,” Mymble said. She sighed, and tugged on Little My gently. Little My let herself be pulled into Mymble's lap, and Snorkmaiden and Moominpappa sat on either side of Mymble on the bed. 

“Is that why you and Snufkin were arguing?” Snorkmaiden asked gently.

Little My huffed. “He's so excited,” she said softly. “He's gonna end up getting hurt. Aren't we enough? Why's he care so much, anyway?”

“I can't say why Joxter didn't come back, but if he promised, I'm sure there's a reason he didn't,” Moominpappa said. “He didn't promise things often so he couldn't break them. It was important when I knew him that he didn't break promises.”

Little My buried herself deeper against Mymble, frowning stubbornly. “I don't care. He hurt Mother and Mymble too bad.”

“Don't I get a say in this?” Mymble asked. “You complain about Snufkin being stubborn, but you're as bad as he is. I'm the one that was hurt.”

Little My grumbled, curling up tighter. 

“It did hurt,” Mymble said, looking at her sister without seeing her. “That's why I want to see him again. Mother's good at forgetting, but we aren't, and I want to know why. I want to look him in the eyes and hear why he didn't come back. I can't do that if we don't meet him.”

“It's sweet that you want to protect them, Little My,” Snorkmaiden said, not reaching out for fear of a bite, “but sometimes all we can do is be there to pick up the pieces and not say 'I told you so'. You can't make him not meet Joxter just because you don't want him to.”

“Do you remember anything from your argument?” Mymble asked.

“...” Little My curled up harder on her sister's lap. “We both said some nasty things,” she finally said. “He probably won't want to see me again. He'll have his father anyway.”

“But he loves you,” Snorkmaiden said, daring to reach out now. “You know it's true, Little My. He's not going to replace you. He probably could use his big sister right now, getting ready to meet someone new that's this important.”

“He could use Mymble, she's all supportive,” Little My said bitterly. “She didn't argue with him about it.”

“He could use both his big sisters, in case Joxter's earned himself a bite,” Mymble countered. “Little My...”

She waited until Little My looked up at her to continue. “Thank you for worrying. I understand you're angry at him for hurting us. I am, too. But like I said, I want to hear his reasons. I want to know why, and if I've been right to be this hurt. Snufkin deserves to hear him out, too.”

Little My sat up and scrubbed at her face. “You really think he's going to want me there after this morning?”

The three of them nodded to her, and she sighed. “I should probably apologize, then. But he should, too.”

“Considering how he was yelling, too, maybe,” Snorkmaiden agreed. “Why was he yelling, anyway? We couldn't make anything out.”

Little My shrugged. “We're both stubborn,” she said as if that explained anything. “I guess we're both...upset.”

“You wound each other up, you mean,” Mymble interpreted.

Little My winced. “Ah, yeah. Where...?”

“Moominmamma and Moomin went to go find him,” Snorkmaiden said. “We thought they'd have a better chance at finding him and getting him to open up than we would.”

Little My crossed her arms. “Well I'm staying here. He's not ready to see me anyway.”

Above her head, Mymble, Snorkmaiden, and Moominpappa exchanged a look.

\---XXX---

Moomin and Moominmamma walked through the woods, listening.

They didn't call out for Snufkin. In the mood he was in, they both understood without it needing to be said that he very well might flee them if he heard them calling.

If he didn't want to talk, that was fine. But this time, he needed to say it to their faces, not just run from his problems so he could pretend later that everything was fine.

Moominmamma had an idea, changing direction and following the sound of the ocean. It paid off, as they spotted Snufkin's fishing pole before they saw him.

The pole was propped up, but Snufkin wasn't holding it. It took a moment to spot him, as he was curled up tight, his tail wrapped around himself until he was a bundle of brown and green and copper fur.

They came closer, and his tail flicked, the only sign he knew they were there.

They sat to either side of him, and waited, quietly.

“I know you're used to dealing with things on your own,” Moominmamma said eventually. “But it could still help to talk to us. Tell us, please – what happened this morning?”

Snufkin's tail flicked once more, setting up a quick rhythm. The beach was silent again, as the two waited to see if Snufkin would say anything.

Not speaking was taking every bit of Moomin's willpower.

“She wanted to talk about how my parents are coming soon,” Snufkin said finally, muffled by his arms. “She doesn't want me to meet with my father. She's sure he's going to meet me and leave and hurt me. But I leave every year. And she got mad when I pointed it out, and said I always come back and it's not the same, and...I don't remember everything.”

Snufkin launched to his feet while he talked, pacing back and forth on the beach as his tail lashed, more upset than Moomin had ever seen him. “I want to meet him! It's my choice!”

“Of course it is, dear,” Moominmamma said gently. “It sounds like she's worried about you getting hurt.”

“I know he hasn't been there! Neither of them has!” Snufkin said, still pacing, rubbing at his arms hard enough Moomin worried about his claws. “I know that better than she does! But I still want to, I shouldn't have to...to justify that. To explain why I want to meet him.”

His boots threw up sand as he turned, and neither Moomin or Moominmamma was sure he heard her gentle words, so focused on pouring out his hurt to the first people he could do so with safely.

“Maybe she's right! Maybe I am doing the wrong thing. Maybe he doesn’t have a good reason and he will just disappear but...I should get the chance!”

Moominmamma got up and moved to stand in Snufkin's path. He stopped, looking up at her, clutching at himself.

“I...I don't understand why I'm so upset. I...I want to know why. And I leave, too, does she think I'm going to stop coming back?” Snufkin paused, rubbing a paw across his eyes, trying to will back the tears. “Does she want me to leave too? Or...or never be able to leave again? Why didn't they want me?”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Moominmamma said softly, opening her arms and stepping closer as Moomin froze.

Snufkin buried himself in Moominmamma's arms, shoulders shaking as she rubbed his back, her other arm holding him close.

There was the sound of feet on the sand, and Little My barreled down the beach, colliding with Snufkin's legs.

“No!” she cried, gripping on with all her strength. “No, I don't! I'm sorry! Please don't cry!”

\---XXX---

It took both Mymble and Moominpappa to carry Little My out of the house.

For all she said she needed to apologize to Snufkin, she just wasn't ready, and was fighting all the way. And for someone so small, she was very squirmy and difficult to keep a grip on.

“Where are we going?” Snorkmaiden asked, pitching her voice to be heard over Little My's protests.

“I've got an idea where Snufkin might have gone,” Mymble called back.

“I hope it's not far,” Moominpappa grunted. “Little My, calm down! Please!”

She didn't.

Of course she didn't.

But when they rounded the dune, they got a view of Moominmamma, holding Snufkin.

Whose shoulders were shaking, his head buried in her shoulder, and now that Little My was quiet, staring wordlessly, stunned, they could hear his soft sobs.

Moominpappa lost his grip as Little My flung herself away from him and flew across the beach, sand flying up in her wake, and threw her arms around Snufkin's legs.

\---XXX---

Everything was a confused muddle for a few moments after Little My's abrupt entrance, as the other three came running up and exclaimed over finding Snufkin in tears.

Little My, meanwhile, grabbed onto Snufkin's smock and swarmed up into his arms, braced between Snufkin and Moominmamma, to hug him properly.

“All I can remember of Joxter is how sad Mother and Mymble were when he didn't come back,” she said, muffled into his smock. “I didn't want you hurt if he disappeared again after being so excited. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. ”

“I'm sorry I lost my temper. I just...”

“Yeah, I heard some of it.” Little My squeezed tighter for a second. “I heard enough. We want you.”

“We all do, Snufkin,” Moominmamma said, running her paw through his hair. 

After a moment, carefully scooped up Snufkin and Little My, “After a day like today, we all could use some hot chocolate.”

Snufkin grabbed for his hat, Little My still clinging to his chest, and kicked as he tried to protest being carried back to Moomin House.

It would have been more effective if they hadn't been laughing, and hadn't fallen asleep on the way, both he and Little My emotionally exhausted.

\---XXX---

Back at the house, it was time for hot chocolate, and for wrapping themselves in blankets, for talking things through and trying to sort out emotions more complicated than any of them had realized.

And Little My stuck close to Snufkin's side, in his lap whenever possible, a silent apology and promise in one.

\---XXX---

When Joxter arrived, Snufkin rushed to hug him while Little My hung back, reserving judgment.

She was still angry and wanted to lash out, but after yesterday, holding back seemed the only thing she could do, waiting with her sister to hear what Joxter had to say.

It took awhile to get to that part – and despite herself, Little My found herself softening with the way Joxter looked at Snufkin, at Mymble and the Moominparents, even her when he thought she wasn't looking.

Snufkin had wandered off under their watch, so she couldn't blame that on Joxter, and part of her knew she should be furious with her mother, too, but that was for later. For now, she waited for his story impatiently.

It was a story worth waiting for, one he swore again and again was true – and one he had a few scars and souvenirs from, tacked to his clothing or in his pouch, the same sort of useful things she expected someone who'd fathered a mumrik like Snufkin to keep around, to make it believable.

He'd tried to come back. Park keepers, pirates, finally making his way back only to find them all gone and having to start again...it made Little My worry about Snufkin, out there on his own.

And a little angry with Mother, for giving up on him so quickly – Mymble hadn't been able to leave yet – and for now searching harder for Snufkin or Joxter. But mostly at the world for separating them all.

And, with a look at Mymble, at how happy she was, at how happy Snufkin was leaning against his pappa, at how happy their mother was...the sisters exchanged a glance and nodded.

He tried. He didn't abandon them, like the others. Like Mymble's father, like Little My's father, like so many of the others.

Little My slid off her chair and made her way across the room, pulling herself into the pile of Snufkin and Joxter and Mymblemamma.

After a moment, she felt Joxter pull her closer, cautiously, and she clung to his smock as he rested his forehead against hers.

“You disappear again and I'll never forgive you this time,” she grumbled.

“So long as none of you go missing or disappear on me again,” he teased gently. Little My grumbled and Joxter laughed, squeezing tight. “I missed you, little gremlin.”

Mymble paused. “Oh no!” she cried. “I forgot about how you two were already turning into the Chaos Team!” she moaned, laughter bubbling under the surface, when everyone turned to her in concern. “And now there's three of them! Mother, what have we done?”

“Oh, calm down, there's no parks for miles and you're dating the only Police we've got!” Little My said, leaning back in Joxter's arms.

“I know! That's the problem!”

“Is she, now...” Joxter drawled.

“Joxter, you go after him at once,” Moominpappa said.

Joxter stuck his tongue out at Moominpappa. “Take all the fun out of it...” he grumbled.

\---XXX---

It took two days for the abandonment issues to come up. Snufkin would have let them lay, but Little My wasn't risking hurt coming to her brother again – especially not from herself.

Mymblemamma had tried, but there were just too many of them for someone like Snufkin to get what he needed.

But with the chaos trio slowly bonding, he could finally heal the last of it.

They all had a good, overdue cry over it, clinging to each other and crying until they slept in the same pile they'd been crying in.

\---XXX---

After that point, it was common to see the three of them in each other's company, the two younger ones using their father as a backrest as Snufkin fished.

It had been a long time in coming, but it was well worth it, in the end.

Moomin Valley was never going to be the same.


End file.
